Sony Xperia 1 IV vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: The Ultimate Flagship Battle
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🏆 Quick Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra emerges as the overall winner thanks to its brighter display, more versatile camera system, and faster charging. However, the Xperia 1 IV offers a unique, content creator-focused experience with its 21:9 aspect ratio and dedicated shutter button, appealing to those prioritizing a distinct workflow.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Sony Xperia 1 IV | Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 |
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66 - Europe | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - International |
| 5G bands | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - Europe | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 75, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - International |
| Speed | HSPA, LTE, 5G | HSPA, LTE (up to 7CA), 5G |
| Technology | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
| 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 28, 38, 40, 41, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - Asia | 1, 7, 28, 41, 66, 71, 78, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - USA | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2022, May 11 | 2023, February 01 |
| Status | Available. Released 2022, June 11 | Available. Released 2023, February 17 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame |
| Dimensions | 165 x 71 x 8.2 mm (6.50 x 2.80 x 0.32 in) | 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm (6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 in) |
| SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) |
| Weight | 185 g (6.53 oz) | 234 g (8.25 oz) |
| IP65/IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance (advertised) Stylus (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| Resolution | 1644 x 3840 pixels, 21:9 ratio (~643 ppi density) | 1440 x 3088 pixels, 19.3:9 ratio (~500 ppi density) |
| Size | 6.5 inches, 98.6 cm2 (~84.2% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.8 inches, 114.7 cm2 (~89.9% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR BT.2020 | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (HBM), 1750 nits (peak) |
| Runs at 1096 x 2560 pixels except for select use cases | Always-on display | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Octa-core (1x3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.50 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510) | Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm) | Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 730 | Adreno 740 |
| OS | Android 12, upgradable to Android 13 | Android 13, up to 4 major Android upgrades, One UI 8 |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) | No |
| Internal | 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM |
| UFS 3.X | UFS 4.0 | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Zeiss optics, Zeiss T* lens coating, color spectrum sensor, LED flash, panorama, HDR, eye tracking | Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Quad | - | 200 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.3", 0.6µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 10 MP, f/4.9, 230mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.52", 1.12µm, PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video |
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/2.9", 1.25µm | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF |
| Triple | 12 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.7", 1.8µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.3, 85mm (telephoto), f/2.8, 125mm (telephoto), 1/3.5", dual pixel PDAF, 3.5x-5.2x continuous optical zoom, OIS 12 MP, f/2.2, 124˚, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/2.5", dual pixel PDAF 0.3 MP, TOF 3D, (depth) | - |
| Video | 4K@24/25/30/60/120fps HDR, 1080p@30/60/120fps; 5-axis gyro-EIS, OIS | 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | HDR, HDR10+ |
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/2.9", 1.25µm | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF |
| Video | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 5-axis gyro-EIS | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
| Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | Yes | No |
| 35mm jack | Yes | No |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 24-bit/192kHz audio Dynamic vibration system | 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG | |
| Comms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.2, A2DP, LE Audio, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS | GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG, video output | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band or tri-band (region dependent), Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Features | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compass | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Native Sony Alpha camera support | Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 30W wired, PD3.0, PPS, 50% in 30 min Wireless Reverse wireless | 45W wired, PD3.0, 65% in 30 min 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Type | Li-Po 5000 mAh | Li-Ion 5000 mAh |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Black, Violet, White | Phantom Black, Green, Cream, Lavender, Graphite, Sky Blue, Lime, Red, BMW M Edition |
| Models | XQCT62-B, XQCT54, XQCT54C0V.YD, XQCT54C0B.YD, XQCT54C0W.YD, XQCT54C0V.EEAC, XQCT54C0B.EEAC, XQ-CT72, XQ-CT54, XQ-CT62, SO-51C | SM-S918B, SM-S918B/DS, SM-S918U, SM-S918U1, SM-S918W, SM-S918N, SM-S9180, SM-S918E, SM-S918E/DS |
| Price | $ 1,120.00 / € 489.00 | € 549.90 / $ 454.99 / £ 433.00 |
| SAR | - | 1.12 W/kg (head) 0.92 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | - | 0.96 W/kg (head) 1.40 W/kg (body) |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | Endurance rating 100h | Endurance rating 126h |
| Camera | Photo / Video | Photo / Video |
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | -27.6 LUFS (Good) | -25.6 LUFS (Very good) |
| Performance | AnTuTu: 838832 (v9) GeekBench: 3403 (v5.1) GFXBench: 74fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) | AnTuTu: 1241531 (v9) GeekBench: 4927 (v5.1) GFXBench: 67fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
Sony Xperia 1 IV
- Unique 21:9 aspect ratio display
- Excellent video recording capabilities
- Dedicated shutter button for photographers
- Clean and minimal Android experience
- High-quality audio
- Lower peak brightness compared to S23 Ultra
- Slightly older chipset (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1)
- Slower charging speed
- Less versatile camera system
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Brighter and more vibrant display
- More versatile camera system with incredible zoom
- Faster performance (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2)
- Faster charging speed
- Feature-rich software experience
- More expensive
- Samsung's One UI can be overwhelming for some
- Design can be polarizing
Display Comparison
The Galaxy S23 Ultra's display is a clear winner. Its 1274 nits peak brightness significantly outshines the Xperia 1 IV's 602 nits, making it much easier to view outdoors. Both offer excellent contrast (infinite nominal), but the S23 Ultra's Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel delivers more vibrant colors and smoother motion. The Xperia 1 IV's 21:9 aspect ratio is unique, offering more screen real estate for content creation, but it's a matter of personal preference.
Camera Comparison
Both phones have excellent camera systems, but the S23 Ultra offers more versatility. Its 200MP main sensor captures incredible detail, and its zoom capabilities are unmatched. The Xperia 1 IV excels in video recording, offering features like 4K 120fps and professional-grade controls. However, the S23 Ultra's image processing and overall camera experience are generally considered superior.
Performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the S23 Ultra provides a noticeable performance edge over the 8 Gen 1 in the Xperia 1 IV. While both phones are incredibly fast, the S23 Ultra handles demanding tasks and games with greater ease and efficiency. The improved CPU and GPU architecture of the 8 Gen 2 contribute to smoother multitasking and longer-lasting performance.
Battery Life
The Galaxy S23 Ultra demonstrates better real-world battery performance, achieving an active use score of 13:24h. While the Xperia 1 IV boasts an impressive endurance rating of 100h (likely under specific testing conditions), the S23 Ultra's more efficient chipset and optimized software contribute to longer battery life during typical usage. The S23 Ultra also charges faster with 45W wired charging compared to the Xperia 1 IV's 30W.
Buying Guide
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is ideal for content creators, photography enthusiasts who appreciate manual controls, and users who prefer a less saturated display. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is perfect for those seeking a powerhouse with a stunning display, exceptional camera versatility, and a feature-rich experience.